Chapter 1 Pavlov's Expression

The coach of the Vladivostok Luch-Energiya team, Pavlov, looked at the field with an incredulous expression.

The score on the field hadn't changed. But his center backs were being ravaged.

The quality of the Dynamo Stadium's turf wasn't great, so it strengthened Advocaat's determination to have the team attack down the flanks.

After Zenit Saint Petersburg got the ball, they kept sending it towards Chen Yingxiong's head, taking full advantage of his heading ability.

And Chen Yingxiong? If he had a chance to head the ball towards the goal, he would. If he didn't, he would pass the ball to his teammates.

However, once he got into the penalty area, he rarely passed the ball to his teammates; he would just head it straight for the goal!

Chen Yingxiong's approach was a bit selfish, but he had good reason to be selfish. As long as he was in the penalty area, every time he jumped to contest a header, he could cause enormous trouble for the opponent's defense…

This match was still not being broadcast live nationwide, so only the local Vladivostok television station was broadcasting it. During the broadcast, the local commentators constantly expressed their concerns for the home team's defense. Every time Chen Yingxiong jumped in front of the goal, they would shout, "Be careful!"

Twenty-five minutes into the match, some of Luch-Energiya's defenders were already panting and feeling tired. How could they not be? Every defense required them to jump with all their might, while also battling Chen Yingxiong physically, trying to stop him and disrupt him, just to keep him from scoring.

So the score was still 0:0, but these defenders didn't know how much longer they could last…

Alexandr Sheshukov took a deep breath after defending against another Zenit attack. Only twenty-some minutes into the match, and his back was already soaked with sweat.

At one meter eighty-one in height, his heading ability wasn't outstanding, and he was also ten centimeters shorter than Chen Yingxiong, so he was struggling so much.

His partner, Sergey Shtanyuk, was one meter ninety tall, about the same height as Chen Yingxiong, but the two men differed by eleven kilograms in weight, and those eleven kilograms determined that the thirty-two-year-old veteran could only use his experience to defend against Chen Yingxiong.

It was fortunate that Shtanyuk was partnering with Sheshukov in this match; otherwise, Luch-Energiya's goal might have already been breached by Chen Yingxiong's header…

Even now, everyone felt that it was only a matter of time before Zenit scored…

"Damn it… where did this guy come from?" Coach Pavlov on the sidelines cursed under his breath.

This sentence was becoming a common refrain for the coaches of all the teams that faced Chen Yingxiong.

Because the away game was too far away, even the most die-hard Zenit Saint Petersburg fans couldn't make it to the stadium to cheer for the team. So the Dynamo Stadium, which could accommodate more than ten thousand people, was packed with home team fans.

Logically speaking, this should have been a huge home-field advantage for Luch-Energiya. They could have filled the entire stadium with cheers for their team. But now, the Luch-Energiya fans couldn't be bothered to do that. They were all worried about their team's defense.

Whenever Arshavin or Spivak lofted the ball towards the center, they would let out a cry of alarm, fearing that their goal would be breached in this attack.

"Who is that number 99?"

"His jumping ability and height are outstanding, and his heading is so good… is there no justice!"

Some fans who paid more attention to the Russian domestic league knew about the exploits of Zenit Saint Petersburg's number 99: "Hey, did you know? That's the kid who scored in the last match. It's said to be his first match representing the first team…"

"It's really enviable. When will our youth team be able to cultivate such a player?"

"For most of this match so far, the ball has been flying in the air. It's not good to look at at all! I don't think the audience wants to see a match like this!" The TV commentator complained. But this was sour grapes, because the team he supported had no advantage in this aerial battle and could only passively take a beating.

Just as he was complaining, he saw Zenit's backfield launch a ball, which was headed by Chen Yingxiong and passed to Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov feigned a breakthrough in the middle, causing Luch-Energiya's center back Sheshukov to shift his center of gravity, and then suddenly knocked the ball out diagonally!

Breakthrough!

"Stop his breakthrough!" the commentator shouted. He was almost imagining himself as the head coach…

This year, twenty-three-year-old Kerzhakov played in the Super League for Zenit's first team at the age of nineteen. In the 2001 season, he made a total of thirty appearances and scored six goals, performing well.

Then, in the second season, he made thirty-six appearances and scored eighteen goals, making rapid progress. In each of the following seasons, he was a key player for the team. The 2004 season was the most insane season of his career. In thirty-eight matches of all kinds, he scored a total of twenty-nine goals.

This season, he had already made twenty appearances and scored ten goals.

His characteristics were his speed and excellent shooting. He was a typical striker.

He, Arshavin, and Vladimir Bystrov were once the future hopes of Zenit, but Bystrov had already transferred to Spartak Moscow last year.

Because he made a name for himself at a young age, he was a key figure that many teams would pay close attention to.

But this time, only one side back followed him. Even the center back Sheshukov, who had been faked out by him just now, didn't chase, but turned around and ran towards the goal. His target was Chen Yingxiong…

Having played for half an hour, if they still didn't know what tactics Zenit was using in this match, then they had truly played for nothing!

Kerzhakov would definitely use his speed to break through to the baseline, then cross the ball and send it to the top of Chen Yingxiong's head.

They guessed correctly. Kerzhakov, like the entire Zenit team, didn't hide his intentions at all. When he reached a suitable position, he used an acceleration to slightly open up an angle and decisively crossed the ball!

It had to be said that it was really a headache for defenders to have a forward with such a ferocious heading ability. Because this wasn't outside the penalty area, where you could grab with your hands if you couldn't win the challenge, or just go up and hug him with both arms and drag him down.

If you dared to do that in the penalty area, just wait for a penalty kick.

When they saw Chen Yingxiong, Sheshukov, and Shtanyuk jumping up at the same time, the Luch-Energiya fans in the stands and the Luch-Energiya coach on the home team's sidelines felt their hearts tighten…

Advocaat also tightened up, but what he tightened was his fist—he clenched his fist unconsciously.

Sheshukov and Shtanyuk sandwiched Chen Yingxiong between them, one in front and one behind, but the one who jumped the highest was still Chen Yingxiong, number 99 of Zenit Saint Petersburg!

Sheshukov leaned back further, pressing his entire body weight against Chen Yingxiong, while Shtanyuk made a very subtle pulling motion. Chen Yingxiong was indeed affected, and his body lost its balance in the air, falling backward.

But even in this situation, he still managed to graze the ball with his head! And he nudged the ball towards the goal!

Luch-Energiya's goalkeeper, Georgian international Giorgi Lomaia, made a wonderful save at this critical moment. He leaped up and batted the ball away with one hand!

"Good…" The commentator didn't even have time to finish saying "close call" before he saw a white figure flash in front of the goal!

The number 10 on his back was very eye-catching.

Andrey Arshavin!

Facing the ball that the goalkeeper had slapped down, the thing Arshavin needed to do was very simple, and that was… headbutt it!

"Ah… the goal is in!" The commentator slapped the table in frustration, but he still had to do his job. He routinely shouted the news, then stopped cheering for the opponent and began to blame his own defense.

"These guys… neither of the two center backs was able to stop the opponent's number 99! I really don't know what they're doing! If we're talking about a difference in height, Shtanyuk is one meter ninety tall, while Zenit's number 99… according to the information written on the sheet, he is one meter ninety-two, only two centimeters difference, is there such a big gap? Two people can't defend against one person! I think Pavlov should consider bringing in defenders!"

In fact, he was wrong to blame Sheshukov and Shtanyuk, because the two of them had already done everything they could as center backs in the air. But unfortunately, Chen Yingxiong, who had a "Sky King" talent, was like a tyrant in the air, unstoppable.

They weren't world-class center backs, so of course they could only be defeated.

Dynamo Stadium fell silent.

In the thirty-seventh minute of the first half, Andrey Arshavin scored the first goal of the match with a follow-up shot.

Although Chen Yingxiong didn't score, this goal was inseparable from him.

After Chen Yingxiong landed and saw that the ball had gone in, he turned around and hugged Arshavin, who was celebrating the goal with his signature "shut up" gesture—this gesture wasn't meant to provoke the visiting fans. The gesture first appeared in 2005, in the match where Zenit defeated Amkar 5:1, and Arshavin scored a hat trick. But he didn't celebrate after each goal, because he was protesting the club in this way: Spartak Moscow had wanted to buy him for eight million dollars, but Zenit refused the deal and instead recommended Bystrov to the other team. Watching his good friend being sold off like that, Arshavin began to use "silence" as a celebratory gesture.

"Oooooooooh!" Chen Yingxiong shouted, hugging Arshavin.

The other teammates swarmed over.

Having experienced a long thirteen-hour flight, and not having fully adjusted to the time difference, and playing a tiring match, nothing could energize them more than taking the lead!

Of course, the teammates wouldn't forget who else deserved credit for this goal. After congratulating Arshavin, everyone also praised Chen Yingxiong's performance.

"You were able to direct the ball towards the goal under the double-team of two center backs. That's really amazing, Hero!"

"If I were Shava, I wouldn't have rushed forward… I wouldn't have thought that you could actually get to that ball!"

"One meter ninety-two is not just for show, haha!"

"A double-team can't stop you anymore, kid!"

After everyone finished celebrating the goal, they came to pat Chen Yingxiong on the head. So Chen Yingxiong discovered that whether he scored or not, people would pat his head and grab his hair.

But… this also showed that he was quite popular, right?

Running back to his own half of the field, Chen Yingxiong thought about this question, and he chuckled.

The score remained the same until the end of the first half, with the visiting team Zenit temporarily leading thanks to Arshavin's goal.

Advocaat applauded the Zenit players as they walked off the field, while Pavlov, with a gloomy face, had already walked into the player tunnel.

He had to find a way to deal with Chen Yingxiong as soon as possible, otherwise… he felt that the second half would only be worse.